Understanding Computer Operating Systems

These are all examples of computer operating systems installed on common types of computer hardware such as desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone computers.

Other common questions that arise when deciding to acquire or purchase a computer include: Does the operating system installed significantly increase the cost of the computer? Can the operating system run the programs needed to carry out the desired type of work?

To answer the question of whether one operating system is better than another, one should first determine the specific work for which an operating system is needed. In short, “better” depends on the budget and general needs of the computer user.

Work as simple as typing documents, for example, could utilize any of the above-operating systems — in most cases, there is a monetary cost difference so let’s check into that. For those who are not familiar with how to install operating systems onto computers, they can be obtained with the operating systems preinstalled so that buyers don’t have to install them — generally, operating systems can be less expensive if purchased preinstalled on a new computer.

Apple Macintosh computers are somewhat of another matter when it comes to a budget, however — Apple computers, implying the Macintosh operating system, can be cost-prohibitive, especially when a relatively simple type of work like document writing is the primary work that needs to be done.

Instead of purchasing a new computer to obtain a newer operating system, an older computer can be upgraded with a free operating system such as a distribution of Linux — popular Linux distributions include Ubuntu, Fedora, and Mint.

These operating systems usually come with word processor software installed such as OpenOffice Writer and LibreOffice Writer so that documents can be typed — the software comes with a converter function to convert the documents into pdf format so that they can be read by most other types of computers without hassle.

Linux distributions are becoming easier to use and some of them do not even require installation — they can simply be run off of a flash drive or DVD.